Vance says deal close but ‘not yet’

The US military said no US aircraft were downed near the Iranian city of Bushehr.

“No US aircraft were shot down. All US air assets have been accounted for,” US Central Command said in a post on Twitter.

Early Friday, Iran’s state media claimed to have shot down a “hostile aircraft” over the southern province of Bushehr.

The United States and Iran have made good progress toward a ceasefire extension agreement, but President Donald Trump is not yet ready to ratify it, US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Thursday.

Hours after US sources said Washington and Tehran had agreed to a deal, Vance told reporters that Washington “has not yet agreed” on a deal with Iran. However, Vance said the parties were close and the US was in a position to significantly push back on Tehran’s nuclear program.

According to Vance, there were some significant issues in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran regarding its enriched uranium reserves and the question of further enrichment.

Vance said, “It is difficult to say when and whether the President will sign the MOU. We are going back and forth on some language points.”

“I can’t guarantee we’ll get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it. We’ve made a lot of progress here,” he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll continue to make progress and the president will be in a position where he can support the deal, but obviously that’s still TBD (to be determined),” Vance said.

Welcome to DW’s ongoing coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.

US and Iranian negotiators have agreed to extend the current ceasefire for another 60 days, according to unnamed sources who spoke to US outlet Axios as well as international news agencies.

However, the deal still awaits the approval of the US President and the Iranian Supreme Leader.

According to reports, the agreement will restart nuclear talks and allow free passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Stay tuned for more news and analysis.